Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer Senate Hearing for Labor Secretary
I think she’s the most controversial pick due to her union views.
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) will try to convince the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to approve her nomination for Labor Secretary.
Chavez-DeRemer, believe it or not, is probably President Donald Trump’s most controversial pick because of her union views.
I agree with Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: Chavez-DeRemar is not a good pick. When the huge teachers union leader supports any of your nominees, but especially labor, that’s a problem:
It is significant that the Pres-elect nominated Rep. Chavez-DeRemer for Labor. Her record suggests real support of workers & their right to unionize. I hope it means the Trump admin will actually respect collective bargaining and workers' voices from Teamsters to teachers.
— Randi Weingarten
(@rweingarten) November 23, 2024
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is already a no. I bet Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will gush over her.
Confidential Information
Chavez-DeRemer promised Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) she would protect everyone’s private and confidential information:
She didn’t immediately answer the question, but after being asked several times, said, “I would protect the private information on this issue. I have been — not been privy to those conversations with the president,” she said, referring to DOGE’s access to certain government databases.
“I have seen that, and if confirmed, I commit to you that I will always protect the Department of Labor and those issues,” she said.
Elon Musk
Chavez-DeRemer did not answer Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) when asked if Elon Musk should have access to the Labor Department. From NBC News:
In response to questions from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Chavez-DeRemer declined to directly answer questions about whether Trump adviser and tech mogul Elon Musk should have access to information about labor violation investigations at the Department of Labor, including investigations into his own companies.
“I know that for most listening to this, it seems as though, when we’re trying to answer these questions, but I have not been in these conversations … I’m not confirmed,” Chavez-DeRemer told Murphy. “I have not been read in on any of this, and if confirmed, I commit to taking a deeper look and working with your office and any other office on this issue.”
Murphy pressed the nominee again, asking her, “This one feels pretty simple, right?”
Murphy continued that Musk “owns companies that have existing investigations” and that the tech mogul “has a direct interest in getting information about the seriousness of those investigations” and “in getting information about investigations against his competitors.”
Chavez-DeRemer dodges on whether Musk should have access to OSHA and labor violation investigations, continued
“It seems like a pretty simple commitment to make to say, ‘I am not going to give any private company exclusive access to information about open investigations against them or their competitors,'” Murphy added.Chavez-DeRemer dodged again, telling Murphy that she would defer to Trump on this issue.
“The president has the executive power to exercise it as he sees fit,” she said. “I am not the president of the United States. I work for the president of the United States, if confirmed, and I will serve at the pleasure of the president on this issue.”
Will Paul Change?
I hope not…
GOP KY Sen Paul on his reservations over Labor Secretary nominee Chavez-DeRemer and her position on the PRO Act: Being for legislation that would overturn the state right to work laws is something that I don't support, I think would be terrible. If you look at right to work…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 19, 2025
Rand Paul UNSURE on Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary
REPORTER: "Would that switch your vote potentially?"
SEN. PAUL: "I'm going to think about her answers…." pic.twitter.com/G39dsWe56w
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 19, 2025
PRO Act and Right to Work
Chavez-DeRemer told Paul that she no longer supports the part of the PRO Act that would outlaw a state’s Right to Work law.
Labor Nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer backtracks on the PRO Act.
RAND PAUL: Do you still support the PRO Act?
CHAVEZ-DEREMER : I fully, fairly support states who want to protect their right to work.
PAUL: So you no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would've overturn… pic.twitter.com/FdoPzSerZf
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 19, 2025
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Wait, they’re actually at work? What about Snowmageddon?!
Less than an 1 inch. projected.
Wed 19 | Day
28°
53%
NNW 6 mph
Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High 28F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%.
No snow. Nothing unusual happening.
And, no, no one running the Labor Department should be truly “pro-union.”
Also, there should be no such thing as a “Labor Department.” The national government has no constitutional business interfering in the market in that way.
I addressed this in another thread. Many commissions, agencies, bureaux, etc have no constitutional basis for existing.
Does anyone know what her views are on DEI and LGB issues in the workplace? Hard to believe someone as reliably ‘pro-union’ as her doesn’t feel similarly pro-DEI/LGB.
Hopefully, more will follow Sen. Rand Paul with a “Nay” vote.
Uncontroversial” =bad/socialist. Need more controversial. Between this one and pblondie weak on 2a and some soros/Koch dudes in DOD and state, well, Not good
I mean non-controversial to the media
No snow. Nothing unusual happening.
What does it tell you if the head of the teachers’ union supports this nominee?
We should get rid of the Labor Department?
Hmmm I used to be a labor negotiator for a company of about 50K people. It wasn’t my final role in my company but I did it for six or seven years.
So, here’s my hot take: Unionization isn’t inherently evil. I worked with some unions I actually respected. In some ways they were actually good to have around. Some managers and some managements are just stupid and some are actually ruthless and greedy. (You don’t fight your way to CEO without SOME psychopathic tendencies.) I found having the unions often acted as a brake on some of the more crazy ideas of senior management. (Note: I realize as I am writing this that I was actually Deep State but I can’t change that now). If the union reps let me know of something illegal or just wrong that management was doing, I could make them stop.
Now, the problem with unions is that people are lazy, and being a union rep is work. People come to you with ALL their bitches. So, most people can’t be assed to be a union rep. You know who can and does become a rep? The nuts and people who have gotten in trouble. So, you end up with crazies and troublemakers as reps. Since union officers are drawn from reps, you end up with corruption at the top.
Quick annecdote: my favorite gambit was early on when I was still in the field. We had a huge (2,000 employee) plant and needed to add a night shift.
Naturally no one wanted to changecto nights. So…. I asked the union to help select the people to move to nights. They were excited amd agreed. However, it made THEM the bad guys as they were telling people they had to go to nights. It was hillarious and they never saw it coming.
I question if we really need a federal DOL at all. But if we have to have it, why put her in charge with questionable alliances and instincts? There are so many other potential candidates who align with the MAGA vision that would be better. Trump can’t be overseeing her day-to-day decisions 24/7, and we saw in Trump v1.0 how he was undermined by his own appointees. Trump isn’t perfect, so the Senate should exercise its advice and consent role to help Trump correct this error in judgement.
Maybe this is a throwaway nomination; someone to reject. It will make the news and take away attention from other nominees for other jobs.
Public employee unions should be banned. They serve little positive purpose. Even FDR was against them.
Private employee unions are fine provided they are voluntary which is often not the case. Much of their role has been subsumed by government regulation of health and safety standards.
What labor unions are left with is compensation negotiation, preventing member termination even when it is a no brainer, and as political slush funds. Compensation negotiation is often unrealistic and can become problematic especially when unproductive and problematic employees cannot be terminated, or workers can’t be downsized because of changing circumstances.
IMO workers should always be allowed to join or refuse to join a union and union membership should never be a condition of employment. Union contract negotiations should be restricted to their members. Everyone else can negotiate their own individual contract OR freely associate and form their own alternative organization to seek negotiations with a company.